The current version of the specification is GEDCOM 5.5, which was released on 12 January 1996. The family record ( FAM) links the husband ( HUSB), wife ( WIFE), and child ( CHIL) by their ID numbers. The individual records ( INDI) define Bob Cox (ID 1- Joann Para (ID 2), and Bobby Jo Cox (ID 3). The header ( HEAD) includes the source program and version ( Reunion, V8.0), the GEDCOM version ( 5.5), and the character encoding ( MACINTOSH), which is invalid, as according to the GEDCOM 5.5 specification valid choices are ANSEL, UNICODE or ASCII. The first column indicates an indentation level.
Findings showed that a number of problems existed and that "The most commonly found fault leading to data loss was the failure to read the NOTE tag at all the possible levels at which it may appear." In 2005, the Genealogical Software Report Card was evaluated (by Bill Mumford who participated in the original GEDCOM Testbook Project) and included testing the GEDCOM 5.5 standard using the Gedcheck program.
For standalone validation you can use "The Windows GEDCOM Validator" or the older unmaintained Gedcheck from the LDS.ĭuring 2001, The GEDCOM TestBook Project evaluated how well four popular genealogy programs conformed to the GEDCOM 5.5 standard using the Gedcheck program. A GEDCOM validator that can be used to validate the structure of a GEDCOM file is included as part of PhpGedView project, though it is not meant to be a standalone validator. Every line of a GEDCOM file begins with a level number where all top-level records (HEAD, TRLR, SUBN, and each INDI, FAM, OBJE, NOTE, REPO, SOUR, and SUBM) begin with a line with level 0, while other level numbers are positive integers.Īlthough it is theoretically possible to write a GEDCOM file by hand, the format was designed to be used with software and thus is not especially human-friendly. Within these sections, records represent people (INDI record), families (FAM records), sources of information (SOUR records), and other miscellaneous records, including notes.
In the GEDCOM lineage-linked data model, all data are structured to reflect the believed reality, that is, actual (or hypothesized) nuclear families and individuals.Ī GEDCOM file consists of a header section, records, and a trailer section. This contrasts with evidence-based models, where data are structured to reflect the supporting evidence. This data model is based on the nuclear family and the individual. 4.4 Ordering of events that do not have dates.4.3 Support for varying definitions of families and relationships.4.1 Support for multi-person events and sources.In August of 2012 FamilySearch employee and GEDCOM X project leader Ryan Heaton dropped the claim that GEDCOM X is the new industry standard, and repositioned GEDCOM X as another FamilySearch open source project.
In February of 2012 at the RootsTech 2012 conference, FamilySearch outlined a major new project around genealogical standards called GEDCOM X, and invited collaboration. However, some genealogy software programs incorporate the use of proprietary extensions to the GEDCOM format, which are not always recognized by other genealogy programs, for example the GEDCOM 5.5 EL (Extended Locations) specification. Most genealogy software supports importing from and/or exporting to GEDCOM format. Ī GEDCOM file is plain text (usually either ANSEL or ASCII) containing genealogical information about individuals, and meta data linking these records together. GEDCOM was developed by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) as an aid to genealogical research. GEDCOM (an acronym standing for GEnealogical Data COMmunication) is a proprietary and open de facto specification for exchanging genealogical data between different genealogy software. GEDCOM 5.5 Standard + Errata Sheet / Janu 26 years ago ( )